A man has been charged with rape and unlawful imprisonment after two women were rescued from a house in Long Island, where Suffolk County police say the man forced them to work as prostitutes.

According to the Associated Press, the two woman were held captive in a Long Island home (pictured above) and forced to work as prostitutes. Police rescued a 21-year-old woman and a teenage girl believed to be a runaway and arrested one suspect who police say is the man who imprisoned them in the house. The woman was held for more than a year; the teenage girl for about four months:

Andy Gayot, 35, of Lindenhurst, was arrested on Tuesday at his Long
Island home after probation department officials acquired a search
warrant after sensing "something didn't smell right" about conditions
during a prior visit to the modest two-story home on a quiet
middle-class suburban street, Suffolk County Police Det. Lt. Robert
Edwards said.

Suffolk County police, probation department officers and FBI agents took part in the arrests. Gayot pleaded not guilty to prostitution, rape, unlawful
imprisonment, weapons and drug and other charges on Wednesday. Bond was
set at $1,002,500. Defense attorney Larry Flowers said his client denied
the allegations. "Once all the facts are known, we believe he will be
vindicated," Flowers said.

Edwards said Gayot had been arrested for violating orders of protection, drugs and other infractions. He declined to go into a lot of specifics about the women, except that they are from Long Island:

He described the 15-year-old as a runaway; she
was allegedly held for about four months while the older woman was a
captive for more than a year. Edwards said the women were not forcibly
held, but were victims of "physical abuse, threats of force and were
given large amounts of narcotics to keep them compliant." He said the women were driven by Gayot to undisclosed locations,
where they were forced to engage in sex for money. Edwards said the
women never received any compensation. "They got paid in food and
narcotics," he said.

Awful story. Here's to hoping for these women to get the counseling and help they need so they can put this awful ordeal behind them.